Painted Glass Vases

Remember I showed you all in the post, “Martha Stewart I Love Thee”, the awesome boat loads of paint given to me by the sweet folks at Plaid/Martha Stewart? Their paint is multi-surface which meant it was perfect for glass also! Back in the winter I had come across some beautiful enamel painted vases on Pinterest by Sugar & Charm. She used them only for display, but I wanted to make mine to be used with water. This week I pulled out those paints and decided it was time to experiment and make Painted Glass Vases.

I headed off to Target in search of some inexpensive vases. I was pleased to find these tall column vases for $3 each. Sometimes you know something is just meant to be. As I pass a home décor aisle this beautiful table cloth called to me, “Kim! Take me home with you!” I ignored his cries and moved on. Yet, as I walked away his cries became louder…”You need me! I’ll look awesome on the outdoor table this summer”. My resistance broke down and I ran back to quickly claim the tablecloth and take him home. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!)

Now that you know the sick power that Target has over me, let’s get onto making some painted vases shall we?

The Martha Stewart multi-surface paint is nice and thick and you could just paint it on the inside of your vase, but for a smoother finish I recommend using a swirl and coat method. Now the paint says not to thin with water (but it will wash up nicely with water), so you will need to mix it with the nail polish remover.

1. For my tall vase I mixed 1 tablespoon of paint with 1 tablespoon of nail polish remover in a disposable cup. Mix the combination really well. If it seems too thick then add a bit more of the remover. I recommend doing this outside as the smell of the nail polish remover is quite strong.

2. Pour your paint mixture into your vase and swirl it around to completely coat the inside of the vase.

3. Pour the excess paint back into your cup and allow your vase to drain upside down on a folded paper towel. Place it on a parchment or foil lined cookie sheet. Allow it to drain for a few minutes and then turn it upright a allow it to dry over night. (Again I recommend you let it dry outside because of the nail polish smell).

4. The paint manufacturer recommends baking the painted glass at 350 degrees for 1 hour. I was worried about how my vase would fair in that high of temperature, so I baked my at 275 degrees for 2 hours. Do not preheat your oven. Place the vase upright on the lined cookie sheet and put it into a cold oven, then turn your heat on and bake. After the allotted time, turn off the oven and allow to cool inside. Your vase is now ready to hold water and it should be able to go through the dish washer even, according the the paint manufacturer (though I haven’t tried that yet).

This method using these paints will create a gorgeous opaque finish. If you are wanted a translucent finish I recommend you try the method I used for tinting my Glass Float Ornaments, just be sure to use Mod Podge.

Fabulous! Thanks for sharing that idea with us. I like that my Michels has a good supply of Martha Stewart paints. I am looking forward to using your fishing float technique to make some faux floats to use in summer-time displays.

LOVE This!! My girlfriend used this & painted yellow & blue stars for me on my tailgating wineglasses in honor of Ucla I’m such an in the box thinker, I never would’ve thought of using it to paint vases! Beautiful!

These look really cute. I find it interesting that you called the tablecloth “him”. Do you really need to add nail polish remover? Martha Stewart painted cake domes on her show using a similar technique at: http://www.marthastewart.com/899500/painted-dome-how. She waited 21 days for the paint to cure instead of baking it in the oven. Do you suppose it was because the food would come in contact with the dome?

Like I mentioned in the post, this method creates a smoother finish and it only takes a few minutes to coat the vase. You of course can use a paint brush and paint it on (as shown in the video) but it will take 3 coats of paint and you will need to wait for it to dry in between coats. For this type of very narrow vase, a paint brush will not work.

As far a the drying goes, Martha explains in the video you can wait 21 days for a full cure OR speed up the process by baking it. I’m impatient so I chose baking.

Very pretty! I laughed when I read about the products calling to you. I often wonder how items just jumped into my cart, even when the kids aren’t with me. It is hard to pass up a deal, right??

Thanks for your blog and all the inspiration you have given me. (I am anonymous, only bc I don’t have any of the accts accepted, but know that I am a huge ‘repinner’ and follower of yours on pinterest. :))

Is it safe to put paint/acetone in a gas oven? I don’t want my kitchen to explode or for there to be toxic fumes! I’ve been trying to paint glass vases for weeks and have not had good luck. Latex didn’t stick, even when I tried treating the vase with alcohol first (I waited for the alcohol to dry). So I switched to an acrylic specifically for glass, a week later I tried to put a clear varnish on it, and the paint dissolved. Should I just have been more patient and tried waiting 21 days? Can you put varnish over acrylic at all? I now have a Folk Art-painted vase still drying and I’m not sure what to do next to it. I want to eventually be able to put wet floral foam in the vases and not have the paint smear or chip. If Martha Stewart’s is just better quality, I’m willing to give it a try too, but I’m beginning to think I’m throwing away money with all of these different brands.

Hi Christine,I’m not sure what to tell you about a gas oven. I don’t think you would have issues as long as you let it dry completely 1st outside or in a well ventilated area for a few days. The 21 days is the recommended time for the paint to cure completely. The baking just allows you to put it in the dishwasher.

Regular acrylic paint will not work on glass. The Martha Stewart paint is an all-surface paint which will adhere to the glass beautifully. You will not need any type of clear coating either.

Sounds good. I just bought some Martha Stewart craft paint and I’m going to get started now. I’ll wait until next week and pop it in the oven using the method you outline. Thanks for the reply! Wish me luck!

Fail! I tried different amounts of nail polish remover on two different vases. It starts out smooth, but a few seconds after I put it in the vase the consistency would change due to the nail polish remover evaporating. Less remover got crumbly very quickly, more remover was better, but ended up somewhat discolored as parts of it wanted to dry while I was still pouring and swirling. My nail polish remover is pure acetone. Perhaps that makes a difference.

I just wanted to ‘Thank you’ for sharing this great idea! I loved the look of the vases from ‘Sugar & Charm’ as well, but, I also wanted to make the vases useable as well! I have been looking for a paint solution or tip that would make this possible without a spray paint sealer … and you have just made it possible! Thank you for sharing your great ideas and tips!

I need these in 14 days. Didn’t know about the cure of 21 days. So I tried with getting bottles hot first then pour paint in. I will bake in oven in a few days. Any problem with the fumes or explosion from acetone? Acetone fumes is it dangerous? Cooking in the same oven that you make your food could it make you sick?

Hi Desir’ee,
I do not recommend getting your bottles hot first. As far as the baking goes, as long as you have allowed the bottles to air out well (outside) for a few days then the fumes should not be a problem. Make sure to follow the baking directions in the post too.

I am baking about 15 bottles now in the oven. This scares me as they cook and their is some smell. All windows open on the house. Be very careful if you consider doing this and make sure the vases are pretty dry beforehand.

Hi Ashlee,
I wouldn’t say it was super thin, but a moderate coat. You want the glass to be coated evenly. Reread through all the directions carefully. You need to allow the vases to dry thoroughly overnight. I left mine outside to dry.
Thanks!
KIM

Hi Crystal!
You can totally paint the inside of any glass with this specific type of paint, using a paint brush, the problem is that the paint is very thick and does not “swirl” without thinning it down with the nail polish remover and using a paint brush leaves brush strokes. I wrote this post back in 2012 and since then many craft companies have come out with Glass Paint, including the Martha Stewart brand. So to be honest, if I was writing this post today, I would just be using her newer glass paint instead of the all surface paint.
Hope that helps
~KIM

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All images and tutorials on this blog are copyrighted material. Please contact me if you would like to use any media (photos, video or audio files), tutorials, or ideas from this blog. 99% of the time I would be happy to allow you to use ONE photo with appropriate credit and link back to Sandandsisal.com (preferably to the same post it was borrowed from.) Absolutely no text or tutorials can be replicated. Contact Kim via email: sandandsisal (@) gmail (dot) com